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Sarah Blazucki is the NLGJA Vice President of Print and Digital. She is the former editor of Philadelphia Gay News. Under her direction, the staff won more than 35 awards for news writing, arts and entertainment, columns, photos and advertising.

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The October 2009 issue of Press Pass Q (“A Newsletter and Trade Publication for the LGBT Media Professional”) is a special edition covering the 2009 NLGJA conference in Montreal.

The main story covers the LGBT media summit panel titled “Prop. 8 + Web 2.0 = Stonewall 2.0” about the intersection of social media, newsgathering and activism:

“[Press Pass Q editor and moderator of the panel Fred] Kuhr peppered panelists about the phenomenon of Stonewall 2.0. “Is there [really] a Stonewall 2.0?” he asked. “Where do citizen journalists fit into the LGBT movement or the LGBT activist picture?” For that matter, what does the future hold for print media journalists in this brave new web world?

“A lively exchange followed, one that underscored a tension within the professional association of NLGJA, between “old” media, or traditional LGBT journalists, and “new” media, the bloggers and citizen journalists who are sometimes viewed within the association more as political activists than practitioners of the craft of journalism.”

The second story covers the LGBT media summit panel titled “Ad Wars” about how publishers are surviving the recession. I was one of the panelists, who also included Josh Rosenzweig, senior vice president of integrated marketing for Here Networks and Regent Media, and David Walberg, publisher and editor at large for Toronto-based Pink Triangle Press. Press Pass Q contributor Chuck Colbert was the moderator.

The fourth story covers the NLGJA conference plenary titled “Is NLGJA Necessary?” about the future of the organization. Geoff Dankert, assistant news director at WFLD FOX News Chicago, was the moderator. David Steinberg, NLGJA’s president, and Michael Tune, NLGJA’s managing director, were the panelists:

“The answer is yes,” Steinberg said. “We need voices in the newsroom. If we don’t have members who are trained, employed, and inside the newsroom, then who can raise issues of fairness and accurate coverage? If not us, then who?” If we’re not there, “it will be a hell of a lot more difficult to get our issues dealt with.”